<p>USC is my DREAM school. But, I need a "little" help to get there. I heard Santa Monica College is a really good school with an impressive reputation. However, it is about a good 20-30 minutes away from where I live (without traffic). Los Angeles City College, however, is literally a five minute drive. But, I get "so-and-so's" from people who attend(ed) there. I need help on deciding on what is the "better" choice.</p>
<p>I am kind of in the same situation. I'm probably 45 minutes away from Santa Monica College (I live in Long Beach) and I don't know if I should go there or the city college that's 5 minutes away from me.</p>
<p>Maybe the metro goes from your house to there?</p>
<p>Everyone always says SMC is the place to go, and I think that honestly has to do with the fact that most of the students who are more serious in transferring to USC and UCLA tend to go there. That doesn't mean that just because you go there, thats the only way to get into USC, it just means that most students who go to their local community college(ie LA HARBOR, they just happen to end up wanting to go to CSULB or CSUDH more than they do other schools). I personally say go to LACC, because in all honesty traffic+parking for SMC is going to be a nightmare, and the great thing about the Los Angeles community college district, in my opinion, is that you can cross enroll at any of the other LACCD schools, ie say East LA, or West LA College, or even Valley College. what that means is that there's much more ways of getting your classes completed instead of waiting another semester at SMC just to finish them.</p>
<p>You should look at the USC transfer thread under the Transfer Section of college confidential, theres' plenty of non SMC students from the la area who transferred to USC from LACC, and ELAC and other community colleges in the la area. You know what got them in? You guessed it their GPA.</p>
<p>If you end up going to SMC and get a 3.4 while you go to LACC and get a 3.75, and took the same classes, you're getting in over the other person, assuming your essays are also good.</p>
<p>Also alot of the professors at some of the LA area colleges including SMC, all teach at different community colleges so its the same education.</p>